Helios Issue #22

[Scorch]

Political Academy & Ethos, Mores, et Monastica by ~The Doctor~
Political Mudpit by Ferrets54
Circus Maximus by VOP2288
Interview with Erich von Manstein by Elrond
Universitas Ludus Olympus by Melboy
Basement by Freddie
Thema Devia by Annaeus
Page 3
An Editorial by the Black Prince

Welcome to this, the 22nd edition of the Helios. We have quite an important change of personnel, with this issue. Ozymandias (AKA tGS, SM and Tom Paine) has fallen victim to the demands of real life and has, regretfully, resigned as Editor. The job, then, passes on to me. I am very sad that he has left, and the Helios will miss him dearly, but I hope I can fill his shoes capably (and what big shoes they are to fill).

We have several reporters making their Helios debut today, so please give a warm welcome to Ferrets, covering the 'Pit and VOP2288, covering the Circus Maximus. That said, there are still some areas missing dedicated coverage, including the Vestigia Vestutatis and the Ethos. If you are at all interested in filling our gaps for those two areas, please PM me.

Anyway, moving on to the first report, we have The Doctor, covering the latest happenings in the Political Academy.

Political Academy

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

So after an absence of a month, ~The Doctor~ returns from the edge of Time and Space itself to present his report on the Political Academy.

Make sure your seatbelts are on, we'll be zooming along at speeds unknown to, uh... snails. Yeah, that'll do.

Minimum Wage, Maximum Trouble

From the keyboard of self-professed Any Rand fan, John Galt argues that having a minimum wage is more damaging than not having one. Of course, it's not long before TWC descends and bites this "theory" in the metaphorical ass.

Minimum wage is a simple necessity to prevent modern nations turning into Dickensian nightmares.

Minimum wage is a necessity in a developed nation. You can't have a situation in which family bread-winners are working for less than a druggo earns on the dole. If a man is willing to work, he must earn more than a person who is not willing to. Hence minimum wage must be higher than dole payments.

But there is always one who goes against the crowd. This time, it's Big War Bird:

Is it a coincidence that unemployment has been rising in the USA since the minimum wage increase of last year? Unemployment is now at 5%.

BWB goes on to argue that the increase in minimum wage is a limit on the free market economy of the United States, while Ferrets and Boof argue that it is necessary to keep people above the poverty line. BWB, however, refuses to admit this, preferring to voice brilliant ideas such as this:

OK the britsh pound is doing well, why not 100 pounds an hour? It's not a stupid question, it is to see if you have the meagrest understanding of economics.

Big War Bird doesn't get, and he probably never will. I've gone off an a tangent here, so LoZz's post should some things up nicely:

minimum wage is important way to insure that those who may not have the same choices when it comes to jobs (i.e poorly educated, disabled) get paid enough to live. regardless of what limited options they have. it does no harm to the economy, infact not having a minimum wage does more as more people will claim benefit, or turn to crime. and companies will just increase the cost of its service or product.

if you make the minimum wage apply to everyone, migrants included you also remove the incentive for companies to hire boarder jumpers. and go someway to solve migration problems.

its all good saying "oh these people should just go to school and get educated" but you need people to do these low paying jobs, you need street cleaners etc, a country where everyone is a doctor, isnt going to work, nor is having everyone going to college/uni, it just makes it worthless if everyone does it/has it. at the same tiem these people need to be able to eat and support themselves, hence the need for the minimum wage. and minimum wages are not exactly alot ether, hence "minimum"

Thank you.

Should Turkey be allowed into the EU

Well, according to 53% of TWC, the answer is no. Why? For the first two pages, it's primarily because of geography. Well, except for lord_IRNBRU:

but the point is why should they be allowed to join despit not being part of europe and it would allow them and terrorists into britain.

Yay for racism? Anyway, an actual good post emerges a little later:

Turkey has a pretty grotesque human rights record, but not that it matters.

Could this be developed further? Yes. Yes it could.

Turkey should be rejected because it is not a respectable modern nation, denies its citizens civil liberties and shirks its responsibilities and obligations to countless UN Treaties, not because it doesn't fit with what your view of what the 'European Culture' is, when they share more historical and cultural links to some European countries than many already in the EU.

Leaving aside the blatant anti-Muslim and anti-Turk wank, Scorch effectively puts the issue to rest. With the dozens of different racial groups in the EU, what difference does it make another is added? None. It is a non-issue. The real issue is whether or not Turkey as a State is acceptable to the EU.

Americans among happiest on Earth

According to a new Gallup poll. So, why?

I think people are happy because of xboxes and ipods to be honest, I think money does make you happy, it makes for a new distraction whenever you're bored, and that makes people happy and content. The fact that our populace feels mostly disconnected from our 2 wars may also factor in.

A lot of that wealth is on borrowed money, though - a lot of people live in homes and drive cars and buy iPods, but owe money on the house, pay monthly for the car, and took the iPod on credit. We have lots of things; we don't necessarily own lots of things.

That said, there is a lot of wealth in the US, which is odd considering our relatively low level of schooling and our military spending. I've never traveled extensively in Europe, and haven't been there in years. But I know that when everything has you upset, listing to your favorite songs on your iPhone between playing Halo 3 is mind-numbingly fun.

Not intellectually stimulating, but fun nonetheless. Not worrying about all the horrors of the world is reassuring, ignorance certainly is strength and happiness. There's a lot to know, and there's a lot to be saddened by.

As the Deltas and Epsilons of Brave New World received their daily doses of soma, the citizens of the United States are sated with reality television, manufactured pop songs, video games, and porn. But really, why am I bothering with this? Commander_Vimes answers it all with a picture. And as the old saying goes...

I'm also going to agree with the "Ignorance is Bliss" thing, and post a graph by Lisa Simpson herself which pretty much explains it.

I'm being advised by that little voice in my head that I still have another article to write. So I'll end my report here, appropriately, with a Simpsons joke. Journalistic integrity? What's that?

I feel honoured to have my post mentioned in this report. To complete a two-for-two by the Doctor, he now has a report on the discussion in the Ethos, ready to go:

Ethos, Mores, et Monastica

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In a rushed attempt to get his work in on time, ~The Doctor~ brings you quite possibly the shortest article in this edition of the Helios. Yes, that dreaded word "deadline" was hanging over my head, so I put this together at the last minute. Enjoy!

How to be Saved - Lucius Julius, cross and Bible in hand, brings us the Good News. Unfortunately, not many TWCers are interested in hearing it.

Why do most Christians hate Buddhism?, asks Exarch. It seems that he was misinformed, however. To be honest, though, Bovril might be on to something:

Budhism is 'cool' and so a lot of Christians, young and old, rail against it out of a kind of jelousy.

Buddhism is "hipper" than Christianity? Intriguing. One gets a mental image of an elderly man telling those damn kids to stop skateboarding on the sidewalks.

Stem Cell Research - that dreaded topic rears its head once more. Interestingly, Ummon, the instigator of this debate, has no qualms about abortion, but rather the use of dead foetuses. Why?

Tell me Ummon, how would banning stem cell research and causing the retardation of medical development and the suffering of thousands bring those aborted fetuses back to life?

Exactly: an utilitarian outlook. You hereby assert that for a cost/benefit calculation, this policy is valid. Infact, this is the problem.

This idea doesn't hold much merit at all, and is discounted in the very next post:

Hardly utilitarian. These fetuses will be aborted anyway, so they might as well be used in research.

Precisely, Shyam. One gold star - or in lieu of that, imaginary cookie.

Women turning on the tears to get what they want. Acceptable or just wrong? - Hillary-hate takes front stage again, but the most interesting thing about this thread is the amount of male chauvinism. It takes a shot of estrogen to set things to rights.

I love how when Hillary gets caught crying, everyone attacks her for being female and crying. It's not like a male politician never choked up in front of an audience before.

On the subject of the OP, I put women who cry to manipulate people in the same category as men who try to intimidate others to get what they want.

Bash Political Corectness Here! - Axeman starts a topic that never gets old. Ever.

We all know it and hate it, you want to throw PC off a cliff, so vent your anger here!

PC has been done to death at TWC, so I'll dig up a typical response:

"African-American" is a stupid label. Not all Africans are black, and not all black people are from Africa.

I like this guy, I really do. Intelligent, and somehow... sexy.

Well, that's enough out of me. I'm getting the hell out of here. See you next time!

Moving swiftly onwards, we have Ferrets54 with his coverage of the Political Mudpit ...

Political Mudpit

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

So, I get to report on the politics forum. What epic dispatches shall I relate? How wrong can people predict the primary results? Is it possible to kiss Ron Paul's geriatric arse enough? Just when will his inevitably campaign of freedom and truth free us from our extra-constitutional overlords? "Who is Ron Paul?" Mutter the eastern Atlantic members. Why hasn't Ron Paul stopped Manstein yet? All in this Political Mudpit Helios report.

Yes, the primaries. A gross orgy of money and faux-combat. The road to victory is strewn with bloody corpses, all stabbed in the back, and the winners all have blood on their hands. Debate concerning the results was rampant, like a horny dog. The world expects, and America delivers. A candidate that doesn't believe in evolution, has Chuck Norris in his retinue and promises to give my Nixon mask several years of continuous use. Wonderful. And on the bluer shaded camp of crazy talk of tears. Of course, at this point it is meaningless. The primaries for both parties are still wide open and the only real point of debate are the electoral discrepencies between hand-counts and diebold machines in New Hampshire. Opinions vary from the reasoned:

The fact is it appears to have been a simple human screw up which of course happens, no election is perfect but that hardly indicates anything more. Its why recounts are done when elections are CLOSE to weed out those errors. This is standard stuff.

the outlandish:

Of course Clinton cheated. Her and her husband lead the most powerful clique of the Democratic party.

and the further outlandish:

For the Republicans, believe it or not, Ron Paul came away with 37% of the vote. McCain got about 8%. Diebold switches, McCain wins in a state he barely has any support in.

Yes. Which brings us neatly onto the unopposable march of Ron Paul.

BECAUSE WHAT THIS FORUM NEEDS IS ANOTHER RON PAUL THREAD

You can't have enough. Fifty one pages of glorious reasoning from:

Huck-a-billy-bible-belt will fall away very quickly. His religious right votes will end up going to Ron Paul.

Ron Paul will get at least 20% in new Hampshire.

to;

Ron Paul only (ONLY!) managed to get 10% in Iowa partly because most of the Republican voters were fundamentalists Christians

to;

Make no mistake, Ron Paul's supporters in America will not give up.

But hey, consistancy is quite the burden for the young and upcoming Ron Paul supporter.

A lot of stuff and nonsense. But America is not the only country running up to an election, and another major line of debate in recent weeks, the unfortunate murder of Pakistanni candidate Benazir Bhutto. At least in this can be approached with a sobre attitude and reasoned opinions.

Or not.

But hey, at least these sort of ideas are not reflective of anybody in power.

"For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone -- nobody else. Responsibility is hers."
President Pervez Musharraf; CBS News, January 8 2008.

Too bad he cannot arrest her.

Aw, **** it all.

To lump the debutantes together, here we have VOP2288, reporting on the most recent developments of the Circus Maximus, Total War Center's very own gaming forum:

Circus Maximus

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Hello and welcome to the Helios! This edition of the Circus Maximus section is more full than your colon after that big Holiday feast, but hopefully wont be filled with the same solid brown matter…anyway enough about bowel movements and onwards into the wide universe of gaming!


After-Holiday Video Game Overview

The holidays are finally over and everyone’s gotten their presents and have no doubt been playing them non-stop since (unless you happened to get a sweater and some gum). So, what’s left to do after you’ve beaten Call of Duty 4, Assassin’s Creed or Mass Effect? Well how ’bout filling the Circus with threads about the games? If you click on over to the CM you’ll find plenty of discussions talking about everything from the imperfections of the nearly spotless Mass Effect to Crysis’ overall impact on gaming society.

Well, first let’s check out what the word on the street is about Call of Duty 4...





BeastG33 started this popular thread last April and it has now spanned over 26 pages since! What started with the announcement of the very first trailer for Call of Duty 4 has now reached the point where members are arguing ways to beat the Epilogue level on Veteran. When the game hit shelves in November, Jimexander the Mighty was the first to post IGN’s review of the game - it looked like good news for the title earning itself a 9.4 out of 10. Then it was Senior Moderator Trajan who was the first to absolutely spill his guts in admiration for the game saying:

Man, COD 4 is awesome. The graphics in this game are sick. The details are everywhere, from the uniforms to the bullet holes on the walls...Thankfully, COD 4 retains the high level intense missions. It's just action from beginning to end, set in beautifully detailed maps. The AI is pretty damn good on the hardened difficulty...I'm only on the "War Pig" Marine mission and this is already beginning to feel like the best COD yet in overall package.

It wasn’t long after that, that members began discussing the amazing multiplayer portion of the game, but suddenly the endless praise was broken by Duke’s all too true statement:

Is this game really 4-5 hours long in SP? Thats what I've read, if so then thats pretty outrageous.

Soon other fans began to share their thoughts on Call of Duty 4’s length - to say the least members Turkeys!, Thanatos, and Praxil were not very impressed with only playing 4 - 5 hours in the single player portion of the game.

Overall, reception from the TWC crowd seems to be fairly positive I'd say. Many have declared their love for the game (whether it be its single-player or its multi-player) and in The Super Pope's Game of the Year thread COD4 gained a solid 10% of the 73 votes in the poll - putting it in third place with Mass Effect and The Orange Box ahead of it. To check out more in depth looks at Call of Duty 4 click on over to the Circus Maximus’ Member-Submitted Game Reviews section for two great write ups on the game.

Speaking of Mass Effect, let's move on to that game...quite possibly the most anticipated console game here in the CM with TWC members...





Mass Effect’s imminent release was first observed by member Count Flip back in July 2007 - establishing this thread and including a lot of in depth info on the game and all its bells and whistles. First reactions were laced with excitement. Most members like The Mongel and Justinian expressed their anticipation for the game itself along with other fall releases - to which Justinian wondered where he would get the money to buy all this with. Aristocrat provided a useful idea:

Sell your body for money?

Mass Effect was then featured in the 15th edition of The Helios under a Darkragnar write up giving an overview of the title to spread the word on this seemingly perfect game. Flip’s thread began to die off by the end of August but it was Duke who brought members’ attentions back to the game in early September providing a link to a 42 minute presentation on Mass Effect at the Leipzig video game convention in Germany - this link doesn’t work now but by clicking the appropriate part numbers in the spoiler below you can find those same videos on YouTube.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

It was Duke again in October that posted a premature Game Informer review of Mass Effect who supposedly gave the game a 9.75 out of 10. Spirits soared and praise was already being thrown about for the game by TWC members even though it was still over a month until they could get their grubby little hands on a copy. As the holidays began to close in, along with Mass Effect’s release date, threads asking for gift ideas and wish lists began to pile on in the CM. Member gr33kp1mp777 didn’t believe he had a sufficient graphics card to run the demanding PC titles of the season so he asked for opinions on Xbox 360 titles. What followed were four Mass Effect recommendations out of five. Duke’s The End of Year Shopping List thread showed at least 11 members anxiously wanting the game - most of them already having it on pre-order.

It was the day after release that member NaptownKnight posted this Mass Effect review in the CM giving the game a nice score of 9/10 with other members backing up his score with praises for his review and agreements on his criticism. So, it’s been naturally accepted here in the CM that Mass Effect is a great title for the Xbox 360 - earning 20% of the votes in the previously mentioned Game of the Year poll.

Finally, let’s look at what was one of the most promising games to come out in ‘07 - Assassin’s Creed…





Although some may argue, there’s no doubt in my mind that Assassin’s Creed was up there with the likes of Call of Duty 4 and Mass Effect when it came to gamers being anxious for those 2007 Q4 releases. Easily one of the most unique titles this year, but most found AC to be a mixed bag after its release.

I first saw info on TWC about Assassin’s Creed back in July when member Necromancer posted this thread in the CM. Initial feelings of excitement and anticipation ran rampant throughout the thread with many different members. The most popular topics of discussion was the then-mystery pertaining to this concept of time-travel (which turned out to be “genetic memory” via the Animus in the game). But soon the thread died out only about a few days later and the CM was quiet again.

But as the release date drew nearer more threads began to pop up in the Circus about the game and anticipation for it reached its highest point when the game’s commercials began to run continuously on TV (use of “Teardrops” by Massive Attack - awesome!). Soon members began to share the information that they’d pre-ordered the game and were awaiting its release and arrival in their mailboxes, but member Cuchulainn was the first to break the seemingly calm waters of the Assassin’s Creed = perfection realm with this very real comment:

I'm waiting for it to get horrible reviews first. A game this good, something is bound to go wrong.

It was then Junior Moderator Evariste to share some unwelcome news…

Press reaction to Assassin's Creed have been very mixed (Electronic Gaming Monthly called it their "game we're most worried about" a few issues ago), but I'm cautiously optimistic that this will be awesome.

And naturally Cluny the Scourge had to share his opinion on the entire matter…

That game looks feeble. It has Simon Says button matching sequences in the melee combat.

And only fools pre-order. Pre-ordering has much in common with expressions of religious devotion, founding life-decisions on a combination of blind personal faith and good marketing from the priests (developers) selling it.

And Duke was quick to agree with him…

I agree with Cluny, the combat looks like some sort of crappy interactive cutscene yet in real time.
The enemies circle around you then take turns to jump in at you, you need to time your button press with their attack and you'll see your character do some crazy stuff that you don't really have any control over.

The press front for this game has been very quiet so close to release, I think the game may flop and get bad reviews.

Then came the day of release…members were excited and couldn’t wait until they got their hands on their pre-ordered copies of the game. Then in came the critic reviews, they ranged from mediocre to almost perfect but it shook the fans to know that their game was not as perfect as previously hoped. Shortly after making its appearance on shelves, member The Last Spartan was the first to review the game - giving it a 9.5 out of 10. Unfortunately, Spartan left out some of the more notable negatives about the game which include close to no replay ability and a nice amount of repetitiveness.

So while AC had it’s flaws and wasn’t as perfect as most hoped for, it none the less proved to be a nice game for those willing to play it. The game includes some of the nicest and most realistic graphics to date and has a pretty solid story supported by fairly nice voice work and interesting characters. It’s no doubt one of the more less praised and talked about (post-release) titles of the season but don’t take that as meaning the game was bad. For one, even though I agree it was repetitive and has no replay value, I still thought it was a very solid title worth the high scores it got from critics.

Say it Ain’t So!!!

So, what else is new in the Circus these days? Well, it seems as though the dust has finally settled from our last monthly Playstation 3 versus Xbox 360 fan boy war-thread (thanks, by the way, to “green” ignorant TWC members who keep posting these threads every month in the CM…) so what should happen to arise from the seemingly calm field of battle? Well, it’s not manufactured by Sony and it doesn’t come from the evil corporation of Microsoft…it’s the Wii!!! That’s right boys and girls the Wii finally has a thread (even though it’s fallen in the ranks recently) of it’s own where those of us who have this precious little demon of innovation can talk about it with other owners.



Naturally the thread didn’t go over too well with hardcore Sony and Microsoft followers but nonetheless the Nintendo fans came out from their holes and finally could spout lines of support for their console without having to worry about being flamed by some PS3/Resistence Fall of Man nut-cases. We can’t however dodge every bullet, we did get a nice line about how we were dishonoring the forums:

oh god , not the wii not the consoles , dont dishonour this forum with consoles

To go along with the Wii thread NaptownKnight has written the first ever game review (Super Mario Galaxy) for the Wii to ever grace the walls of the Member Submitted Reviews section. It’s a solid review too if you’re interested, check it out. Also, be on the look out in the review section for more Wii reviews. I’ve been meaning to post ones for Zelda: Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition.

What Else’s Been Going Down in the CM?

There hasn’t been much else going on in the Circus as of late to bring too much attention to itself. There was a spurt of interesting threads concerning gamers’ feelings. What started with member Big War Bird’s Has a Game Made You Cry? thread, prompted fairly new member Mr Longbowman to create a contrasting thread called Happiest Moment in a Game where members shared mostly nostalgic memories of mercilessly killing their closest friends or recounting tense battles in games like the Battlefield series and Call of Duty, while a surprising amount of members recalled times from the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The most original memory I’d say came from Da Skinna:

Beating level 3 of PacMan... took me so long. I wept as if drunk.

Some polls have also sprung up over the last few weeks hitting everything from Which is the Best Guitar Hero?, to Pro Evolution Soccer ’08 vs. Fifa ’08, and a poll asking members to rate their favorite Free MMO games. The most important of these polls has to be the already-mentioned-a-number-of-times Game of the Year poll. If you haven’t gotten a chance to get over there yet click on over there: vote, check out the results, and post a little blurb just so we know you were there.

So what’s left? There can’t be much more can there? I know this is probably the biggest Circus Maximus article in a long time but if I’m gonna keep writing them then get used to it…

Lastly, we’ve had a few rumor threads and topics on what kind of games 2008 will hold. Look how progressive we at the Circus are! We spent almost 6 months discussing and anticipating games like Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, and Call of Duty 4 and now that they’re out we want the games that are coming out another 6 months from now…

Even though Bioware is still raking in the endless loot from their massively popular release of Mass Effect don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re taking vacations. The Man With No Name first posted an article in this thread back in November concerning the possibility of a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic III. Members were hopeful, while it seems to be universally agreed upon that we here in the CM loved the first game, the second one didn’t sit well with some members and so the possibility of a 3rd installment could be what they need to give them some closure.

Then it was TB666’s thread that brought to our attention in December the hopefully truthful news that a Jade Empire 2 rumor was confirmed. Jade Empire was a less mainstream but still equal if not superior title that followed the Knights of the Old Republic games. Bioware decided to drastically change the setting and put the story-driven RPG in medieval China rather than space like their titles prior and following Jade Empire. Now, we might get to return to the eastern Empire of demons and magic yet again.

Both of these cited articles however are still speculation, but you can always hope. One thing is for sure however; Bioware has a pretty full plate at the moment with making Mass Effect into a trilogy, finishing their new fantasy RPG Dragon Age, putting out a Sonic the Hedgehog RPG for the Nintendo DS, and creating an unnamed MMORPG.

Finally, to wrap up this special long edition of the Helios’ Circus Maximus article, here’s a list of games (mentioned my members) we know are coming this year of 2008, or could be coming out this year. Mark these down on your to-buy list and start saving your money:

Grand Theft Auto IV
Empire: Total War
The Force Unleashed
Spore
Fallout 3
StarCraft II
Alan Wake
Far Cry 2
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
Fable 2
Left 4 Dead
Project Origin (aka F.E.A.R. 2)
Splinter Cell: Conviction
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War: Soulstorm
Europa Universalis: Rome


Hope you all enjoyed reading my first crack at The Helios' Circus Maximus section. If you liked it, and even if you didn't, please tell me! If I get feedback from you guys then I know what I should do next time. VOP out...

Altogether an article of a very high quality, hopefully a post that VOP can fill more often from now on.

Now, to break up the reporting, we have an interesting segment that we have shown you once in the past and plan to publish more often in the future, and that is an interview by Elrond. Last time he interview the one and only imb39, this time he is asking the tough questions of none other than Erich von Manstein.

Interview with Erich von Manstein

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1) Tell us a bit about your self

I'm a 3rd year law student graduating in May. I'm also an old married fart who just celebrated his first year of marriage

2) When and why did you join TWC?

October 2005 following the release of R:TW. I was looking for mods and found plenty.

3) What is your favourite forum within TWC?

At the moment, the Curia. The 'Pit was my favorite up until the quality of posts vastly declined a few months ago, however.

4) When did you first join the staff?

February 2007.

5) What do you like most about being Speaker?

Getting to watch the inner workings of the Curia. It's truly fascinating watching different personality types clash.

6) What do you like least about being Speaker?

Being inundated by PMs from citizen nominees asking me why they haven't received their badge within an hour of their successful vote ending. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not online 24/7.

7) Do you plan to run for a 2nd term?

Should my schedule permit, possibly. In my experience the Curia operates best when the Speaker and Curator maintain a low profile. Such a profile hasn't always occured and much of the citizenship resigned their ranks in protest. My job will be finished when those citizens find the Curia enjoyable enough to return to; until then I suspect I shall continue submitting my name for the Curia's consideration.

8) Where do you see the curia in one year?

It depends on quite a few factors, really. Ideally I'd like to see it as a place for citizens to work with like minds towards improving the site without getting so caught up in procedure that they render the Curia impotent, as has happened in the past.

9) Many people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the curia and its helpfulness to the site – where do you stand on the issue?

I can certainly understood why some people characterized the Curia as being in its death throes. I'd like to imagine that there's still some life left in the old girl yet, provided the citizens can focus their efforts constructively rather than procedurely.

10) What do you think is the way forward for the curia?

Fewer rules, more enjoyment. Citizens are supposed to be the cream of the crop at TWC and the Curia is the one place they can all (hopefully) gather without interference by spammers and trolls. It's truly a pity to see such fine minds bickering over legal semantics. I've been heartened by a recent bout of activity in the Curia that is both constructive an humorous (changing Garb's name to Lulu, for instance, or the creation of the "Asterix Loincloth"). Provided that attitude prevails in the future, I suspect the Curia will return to its former glory.

11) How do you think ranks and medals should be organised?

I'm rather partial to the old Patrician and Senatorii ranks myself. The former gives citizens something to strive for and the latter is a nice honor to bestow on those who have contributed their time on the Staff side of the site. I'm rather ambivalent when it comes to medals.

12) It has been argued that the standard of new citizens has fallen from "active & intelligent" to "anybody with a pulse" – Do you believe this is true or do you believe that the increasing proportion of CdeC yes votes is due to higher quality applicants?

Let's just say that the CdeC has made some "interesting" choices in the past. While it isn't difficult for that organization to partially redeem itself by chucking out the truly rotten apples rather quickly, I've seen several citizens earn their citizenship through contributions to the site only to turn into complete jackasses soon afterwards. Sadly, the CdeC cannot remove their rank unless they do something truly severe, such as earn a warning from Staff. Ideally I'd like to see the CdeC purge the undeserving from the ranks and spare the Curia from the problems currently harming the 'Pit, although I suspect this will remain something of a pipe dream for some time to come.

13) Do you think the Curia should be given more power, less power or the same that it has now?

More, provided its in the proper direction. Staff and the Curia should remain separate in their duties, of that I have no doubt. But when it comes to advising Hex on the direction the site should take, the Curia isn't doing much. Now, this is largely because of the lethargy in the Curia that citizens have been complaining about, but that doesn't change the fact that the Curia should be allowing itself more say in this area.

14) The position of Curator has been described as the worst job at TWC and the Curator usually receives allot of Critisism – do you think that the role needs reforming or removing?

As long as we have plenty of candidates for the job, I'd say keep it as it is.

15) Was I a good Curator? (Think carefully!)

LOL...you performed your duties quite well. You cannot be faulted if you had a bit of a rough start - there wasn't exactly a "Curator's Handbook" for you to read after your election and your predecessor didn't exactly stick around for long afterwards.

16) What has been your greatest achievement at TWC?

Becoming a citizen. Honestly, everything revolves around citizenship at TWC. It's the reward for those who contribute and the gateway for those who wish to further their involvement with the site. When you look at the number of overall members at the site and contrast it with the number of citizens, you realize that citizenship truly is an honor, even if the CdeC lets a few bad ones in from time to time

17) What is your main regret at TWC?

Resigning as Chief of Moderation before I'd finished everything I had hoped to do. It's my personal opinon that moderation at the site has faltered over the last few months due to a lack of leadership and, had I stuck around a bit longer, I think we could've seen a smoother transition. That being said, I spent several months working closely with our new CoM, Seneca, and I have full faith in his abilities to clean up the subforums that have been the subject of recent membership complaints. He's an excellent moderator, to say the least, and the Moderation Branch couldn't be in better hands.

18) Who have influenced you the most at TWC?

I should start with Ian. I actually had no desire to join Staff after I became a citizenship. At one point in the 'Pit imb39 called me a Holocaust denier for equating Stalin with Hitler; I responded with a rather controversial bill in the Curia and, soon enough, he was encouraging me to volunteer as a moderator. His ability to remain detached from controversy and engage in evenhandedness in all situations is something I have frequently tried and failed to emulate.

Garb's been another big influence. We've had our disagreements, particularly over a few of my decisions as CoM, but we worked together closely while I was an admin and he was a Tribune and he certainly helped work out more than a few messy situations.

Last, all of the moderators and admins that I've had the honor to work with over the past year. Last Roman, Seneca, Scorch, sapi, Vikrant, TB666, scottishranger, JIT, Trajan, WBK, Nihil, Hader, Evariste, imb39, Publius, Giga, Halie, Mim, Sim, rome ac, and a few others that I am no doubt forgetting, have all positively influenced me in some way, shape or form.

19) Who do you think has had the biggest effect on this site?

That's a no-brainer. We'd be some obscure general gaming site if it wasn't for imb39's generosity.

20) What was the first TW game that you played?

Shogun

21) What is your favourite mod?

Europa Barbarorum, hands down.

22) Apart from the TW series what games do you play?

Anything I can get to work on my 7-year old rig

23) What is the best advice you can give to a new citizen or member?

Contribute, contribute, contribute. This site depends just as much on its membership as it does the admins and Staff. Whether it's a guide or a review or just an answer to someone's question, anything you can do to help the site helps all of us. This site will continue growing in both size and overall quality as long as members continue contributing their time and effort.

Quite an interesting read, at any rate. Who do we have left now ...? None other than The Sundance Kid (aka Melboy) with his report on the Ludus.

Universitas Ludus Olympus

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Well, the first Helios of the New Year. Oh, how time flies. It feels like only yesterday I was...

To cut that potentially long and rambling story short, the metaphorical mangonel I'm sitting in metaphorically catapults me into the metaphorical world of sport. No wait. Scratch that last one.

First, I apologise the relative shortness of this article. If, indeed, you are reading this at all. If not, I'll go drown my sorrows in the bottom of a bottle at the Helios Headquarters Minibar. But I'm holding out that someone is. Come onnnn, sportsmen of TWC!

My first metaphorical stop of the day is unsurprisingly (my laziness being ironic as the sports correspondent) the first thread in the forum. Sigh.

The name, however, intrigues me. The Saint and Greavsie Thread, as -Portent- has so bafflingly named it, is a thread about footballing memories. Yes, you dirty Americans, soccer. I dont think I've done an article which hasn't bashed our overseas comrades. Metaphorically.

Portent's own memories are delightful -- a nice, happy picture of a man with a crazed, serial-killer look in his eye and blood all over his face and shirt.

Harry Lime, who's favourite picture is patriotically the 1966 World Cup winners photo, believes Frank Lampard to be overrated. Disagree? Don't send hatemail to me, send it to him! Or...just go and post in the thread.

Next, I found Gary88's Sporting Awesomeness -- Big Men smashing into each other thread, a friendly little topic about American Football players, rugby players and the like mutilating other player in barely legal ways. It ialso turned into a shrine to Chabal, really, with the sporting fans of TWC shouting his name from the rooftops. Go and praise him too, or find out who the holy mackerel this 'Chabal' fellow is.

Also, not exactly applying for sports, but near enough -- Who have you met? As ever, Portent is desperately trying to promote Everton in subtle, subliminal ways, having met pretty much every player -- there are some other great guys, and a lot more nobodies. Sorry, guys, but I've met Beckham. Chew on that.

The FA Cup is also heating up -- Take a butcher's at the thread here.

Now, for everyone's enjoyment, here is a picture of a smurf playing football. You can't get more sports related than this article, mes amis.



Take it easy, folks.

Another great article from Melboy. Moving on to a Helios veteran, now, we have the ever-consistent Freddie, with his basement report.

The Basement

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Basement

Well after a very long extended break the Helios is back, with a bang. There’s lots to catch up on so with any further delay let’s look at what I’ll be covering for this report. Widescreen monitors have been on the cards on the basement recently, we don’t get that many threads on monitors so it will nice to cover this in detail. The issue of service providers and there charges has also come up, I would ask anyone reading this if you post in this thread about the detail of what your paying it would be helpful. We will also be going down memory lane, were going to look at when you first got a computer and internet. Lastly I’ll be covering a non contest, what do I mean by this? Read on!

Widescreen Monitors

Brought a new monitor recently? I have I brought this little baby,

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

It’s 24” widescreen, the chances are if you have brought a new monitor within the last year it was also a widescreen monitor. Although LCD manufacturers have been quick to improve the technology behind these screens sadly some games developers have been slow the punch in catering for them. Being widescreen the resolution at which you play at is different to the standard 4:3 ratio that normal non widescreen monitors use (2 take games who made Bioshock are guilty of this).

after my previous LCD died, i chose to upgrade to a new monitor. i did not realize it would horribly pixelate the more common resolutions of 1024x768.. etc, being widescreen; i was forced to run games at its native ratio resolution of 1680x1050, and this of course worsens framerates. i plan to buy a newer video card to support this new resolution, but other than this.. am i screwed?

Another problem is if you do go with a widescreen and intend to play games, make sure you have the video card that can run games on it properly. So heed the experiences of Snuggans people.

It’s not all bad news though large widescreen monitors do have there advantages, one of which is DVD upscaling where by you take a standard DVD and your computer renders it (output at) at HD resolutions (1920 x 1080). So long as you have a fast processor (P4 3.0Ghz or Core 2 Duo), this is a possibility for a lot of us look out for guide in the near future.


The Price of Connection
Forum veteran and former administrator Horsearcher wants to know what you are paying for your
internet connection
how fast it is, what type it is and where your based.

I'm trying to figure out , whether or not the price of internet connection is getting cheaper, more expensive or remained constant.

I also want to know if it became any faster or no significant changes compared to a few years ago.

I'm simply complaining, that the high-speed Internet isn't getting cheaper, neither faster on a national level in USA to my observations.

Anyone agree disagree?

I have had experiences with all sorts of TCP/IP connections over the years, dial up, ISDN, ADSL and satellite. By far the best connection available is cable since the cable network works on fibre optical cabling, in the UK most DSL connections are run on copper wires which has a limited bandwidth of 8MB a second and that’s only if you live very near to the exchange, frankly its embarrassing that the 4th richest country in the world has a third world communications infrastructure. If you’re lucky to live in Sweden you can get broadband up to 40Mb a second. The other alternative is satellite, this however is expensive and the packet lose can be great and connections speeds are dictated by the weather.

When did you first get a Computer and Internet?

The topic title says it all when did you get your first computer and internet?

It’s interesting to read some of the replies if you’re a bit of techy history geek like myself.

The thread title is self explanitory I think. I first got a Computer back in 1996, it was a Windows 95, very good for it's time.

An Atari 1040 STE ca 1990.
And my first internet connection was on my campus dorm room, in 2000

My oldest computer memories are of playing flight simulator 4.0 on an orange screen a long time ago. I think that was on windows 3.0 or 3.1.

Man I feel old. I had a TRS - 80 Model 1 in about 1979. I still have it lol

To think we once had to store things on that. A whopping 1.2mb storage (I think) for the double sided/density 8 inch floppy. The machines were just great for storage of information at the time, probably why so many dialup BBS used them to run on.

Damm! Look at the size of the first floppy disk, those were the days when floppy disks were in fact floppy, I can’t remember the computer that used those but the BBC we had my primary used the ones in the middle. Today we have dual layer bly-ray discs that can hold 50G’s of data (and the forth coming triple layer HD-DVD which can hold 75Gb’s) those disk would be luck if they could hold just 1MB of data, to put that into perspective that over 50,000 floppy disks to 1 blu-ray disc.

PC Vs MAC

Remember these adverts from early last year?




Well someone has started a thead on this very subject now Mac Vs PC. As you would expect TWC being a gamin site that specialises in PC gamin the thread is very much one sided,

PC, simply because the premium you pay on a mac in not worth it.

I don't have too much experience with Macs, but in junior high we used the iMacs in the computer lab and I detested the interface.

Old Mac's used to be worth the money. Though harder to program (efficiently) for, I am reliably informed, but the RISC processors were amazingly efficient. Performing identical photoshop action sets on identical images took 3/4 of the time on a G3 500 with 256MB ram compared to an Athlon 800 with 640MB - the HDD's were of a similar spec and the RAM was the same speed.

Now all you get is a shiny OS with less compatibility for many programs and a premium cost for and similar Intel Core-based hardware as is found in a PC. I've always thought Computer Fred made it almost worth it though....

I think I’ll leave the last word for Sim,

Macs are not better for gaming. Macs are completely hopeless for gaming, unless you only play World of Warcraft (which to be fair, some people do . . .). Only a few of the major titles are released for Mac, and that remains true to this day. The only way they're better now is that you can run Windows on the same computer, so you don't have to switch computers to play games, just reboot (or maybe use virtualization, but I've heard that's pretty slow).

Macs are definitely more expensive, in terms of hardware, because there's only one hardware vendor. If you're playing games, in which case you'll probably need to install Windows beside Mac anyway (extra $100+ there), you'll find a big performance/graphics quality difference between PCs and Macs of the same price, and not in the Macs' favor.

There's no difference in terms of schoolwork or multimedia work. Everything of any importance available for Macs works for PCs too, to the best of my knowledge, and vice versa. You'll probably be using most of the same apps (Microsoft Office, Photoshop, 3DS Max, . . .) on both. Artsy types not uncommonly use Macs, and it's fine for them, as long as they don't care much about games.

So, it looks prettier. You can take that, or you can take higher performance, lower cost, and the ability to play modern games. Your choice. (Or you can dual-boot and get the prettiness along with the ability to play games, but lose out on even more money and still get a performance hit.)

Well that says it all folks, but just before I go….



Remember if you own a MAC lets face it you’re a bit self centred and only care about looking good and you pretend to be someone your not. Let’s face it you’re a bit of **** aren’t you?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

From the Basement to the fleeting and non-specific joys of the Thema Devia, we have Annaeus, our resident reporting Roman, covering the TD in this issue.

Thema Devia

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Riches of Thema Devia

By Anny


So, here I start off with my TD report, unlike ever before, since it’s time for a bit of change. Well, I feel, for myself. Anyway, we’ve got some very exciting threads in Thema Devia that I would like to cover in this very first edition from my side. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

The first and the foremost of all notable topics that one would come across pertains to the tale of two twins who got parted and fell in love later on in life, and were also on the verge on marriage. As visible in the title, I would simply say that it indicates the twist of fate in human life and the awfulness presented by it. And it’s surely quite doleful to even think about. Here’s the link to the thread:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140665

The following are a few opinions as made by the concerned members.

I think inbreeding is unlikely to cause genetic problems until the second generation of inbreeding, but this might only be the case with guinea pigs.

It wasn't uncommon for Egyptian Pharaohs to have their sister be one of their wives. So I'm assuming they didn't have deformed children because then they obviously wouldn't be husband and wife. I've made out with my first cousin and I don't think it's wrong at all.

I believe this twin couple should decide for themselves, although if it is proven that twins will most likely have deformed children I hope they don't have unprotected sex, because then others might have to pay extra tax on their retarded child .

Provocative...

Should we have a discussion on the ethics of sibling love?

Ethics?
It's just bloody disgusting.
And wrong.
And extremely unlucky for them.

Studies have shown in the past that there's less than 1/2 probability of a normal child's birth in case of incest between two siblings. In fact, father-daughter and brother-sister unions result in inbreeding four times as intense as first-cousin marriages. The risks generally include recessive disorders and congenital malformations. Some of them include homocystinuria, adiposogenital syndrome, congenital ichthyosis, retinitis pigmentosa, deaf-mutism and mental retardation. Moreover, there have been cases of cystic fibrosis and glycogen-storage disease, both being recessive disorders, and also, Fallot's tetralogy and bilateral cleft lip, both being congential malformations. Furthermore, the mentally retarded born due to such associations exhibit an IQ in the range of 60 to 80, which cannot be considered normal. Also, homozygous genes, i.e., the possession of two identical genes at the corresponding loci of two homologous chromosomes, result in serious disorders and even death in the utero. For more info, see here. However, the evidences that suggest these are not very affirmative. But even then, the risks still exist.

Well, the last one remained unnoticed.

To sum up, the majority expressed its grief regarding the news.


Next, I come to a topic that would be considered interesting by a lot of you, hopefully. It’s about an accusation put forward by a man who claims that Disney, the famous animation company, produces videos that teach detrimental concepts to its young viewers, like porn, satanism, destructionism, spiritism, etcetera. Have a look inside the thread by following the link below.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140554

Some believe that Disney does harm the interests of children...

At first I thought you posted this as a joke, but you really believe this stuff don't you?

Wow.

Not everything but i do believe there are people showing crap on TV and selling crap to the children maybe it normal to you but for me its not normal that children watching this kind cartoons cmon men you see naked women in some cartoons suppose for children not for adults its weird that you think its a joke wow great joke it is really.

On the other hand, as always, there’s some disagreement, too…

have you ever heard abouth a boy in usa after he played GTA he begon shoot at everybody ?

Forgive me if I do not believe your unsourced statement. Games don't do that to people, movies don't do that to people, music doesn't do that to people, books don't do that to people, etc ad infinitum.

No one goes crazy after interacting with media, unless they already have issues. And youtube is not a reliable source.

And the debate goes on and on…


Then I take you to Gary’s thread that requires you to post your favorite booze. Go ahead and sign.. er.. post!

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104068

Also, don’t forget to gulp while you read.

After that there’s Harry’s thread questioning people on whether they smoke or not. And mind it, don’t forget to notice the interesting options in the poll.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141245

Take a look at what people said.

I quit for a while then started again around the time that I broke up with my girlfriend and -oddly enough- started having financial troubles.

That doesn't make much sense, now does it?

Anyway, I just smoked my last cigarette. I can't afford another pack which should assist greatly in this latest attempt at quitting.

Tobacco gives you a buzz, although I can't personally say I've ever experienced it. I've had maybe altogether, 6 inhalations of tobacco smoke, which three was at one time. I didn't feel "lightheaded" at all and I'd rather just smoke pot.

I smoke a bowl every other week or so. The first time I smoked pot I used an vaporizer, now ain't that bad ass?
I've actually never smoked a joint before (I have smoked a blunt though).

AH I just have to share this with you guys. Last week me and a buddy smoked then went for pizza at Barro's. When we got in, it took me about 5 minutes to order so the students who were working obviously knew we were high (they were really hot chicks too). Before I could even decide what drink I wanted they asked me "so you just want water with that, right?", and I was like "SWEET!". I was too high to find the water sign so I just got some Coca-Cola. Then we sat down and waited for the pizza and they changed the radio channel to groovy music. That music felt so good when I leaned against the wall. Simply unexplainable. Awesome pizza too. I am eternally grateful to the employees behind the counter!

Well, for some it’s unavoidable, and for some it’s not, but it’s gradually and surely harmful for all.


In addition, we have Portent asking people whether they are vegetarian. If you are, and even if you aren’t (well, I’m not), express your views on the topic. And don’t forget about the booze in your hand.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140357


Here are some witty/interesting replies…

I have made the decision that I'm going to become a Vegetarian. I will continue to nosh on dairy products but I will not eat flesh.

I'm intrested to find out if there are any vegetarians or strict vegans amongst the members of this site .

Thanks

You're abandoning meat? Why don't you kill yourself then ?

why? please do not make such a poor choice.

YOU NEED MEAT

we are Omnivore's! we get many important minerials from meat. many veggies if you look at them are very pale because they lack the minerials needed and many of them have to take vitamins tablets. its not healthy, ask any doctor its better to eat a little meat then no meat.

if your worried about your health or your body shape you would be far better off exerciseing or having a proper diet which includes a little meat.




sod them, your health is more important then them. you an buy for example free range, there is if you look hard enough "ethical meat" where the animals are treated alot better, not all meat is battery.

Although free range animals do live a much better life than their battery counterparts they are all processed in the same way when it comes to their due time. Chickens are all electrocuted then get their throats sliced. Cows and sheep are all still bolted through the head. I'm more annoyed at the fact it has taken 33 years to actually realise how they die. I cannot be a part of that i'm afraid.

There are vitamin supplements and so-forth to help with my diet. Like I said I will not force my opinions on anyone including my family but my conscience cannot allow me to eat flesh.

Thanks for your concerns mate

Well, I hope you guys are enjoying your meat there. My personal opinion states that it’s something that I can’t abstain from, and it’s much like alcohol for some. Not for me, though. (Hey, the big brother is watching, don’t leave it on the table.)


Where do you see yourself in ten years? Paradise? Of course not. But even if it’s so, feel free to present your plan concerning your ideas about making a perfect life over there.

Just follow the link and enjoy others taking delight in your life.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140789

Here’s what the thread starter had to say…

10 years from now will be a crossroads year for me. I will be faced with what will probably be a difficult situation career wise: stay in the Active Army, switch to the Reserves and get a civilian job/graduate degree, or resign my commission and get a civilian job/graduate degree.

Should I stay Active Duty about that time I should be sent to go to graduate school to get my Masters, paid for by the Army recieving my normal pay. The rest career wise is pretty set, though hopefully I'll be getting an XO position in a good battallion.

Should I go Reserves I'll probably get into a Civil Affairs unit and either get a job with the State Department (hopefully Middle Eastern Bureau) or go back for my Masters. I'll try to keep up my military education and stay prepared as a good officer.

Should I leave the military completely I'll probably do the same except without the military part.

Family wise I hoped to be married with two young children, and education wise I will have a Bachelor of Arts in International Politics from Penn State.

And then, a stranger appeared from the mist and started chattering about Britney Spears. Just see yourself if you don't believe me...

Today Britney Spears managed to wake up and make it on time to the courthouse for a hearing to get some custody of her kids back. Upon arriving, she exited her limo and was mobbed by paparazzi, who are not allowed in the courthouse. She got back into her limo, where her lawyers joined her.

She told them she was, not into this, and left the scene. She had until 3:30 to go back, but was busy ****ing her married paparazzi lover, who is soon to be a millionaire once he has enough pictures.

She will still make money. I have no problem with her, as she is what she is. Her fans should be executed without trial.

The thread can be found here. And if you are generally interested in her, why lag behind this time? Go ahead.

Also, an Albanian guy called Nikron came up with a question. He's basically asking what people think about his country and its inhabitants. For further info, visit the link.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140374


In contrast, there have been some more interesting topics that I would like to enlist in a row instead of getting very descriptive about them. Remember not to overlook them. In any case, enjoy them, too!

• College peeps, what are ya'll takin next semester?
• How Do You Tip? Or, How Cheap Are you?
• McDonalds UK CEO Blames Videogames for Child Obesity
• The Antisocial Club

That's all for my first edition.

Ta-ta!

A strong article to round out our reports. Now on to our Page 3 'Picture of the Week'-type segment.

Page 3

My pick, for the week, is this neatly positioned picture submitted by former Editor, Tom Paine.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

It is, indeed, the sun rising over a Roman ruin in Sicily.

Finally, we have the editorials ... or, just an editorial. Ever-consistent, the Black Prince has written quite a touching editorial this week, which I am proud to present.

Editorial

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Queer Concern

Don't mind doing it for the kids


Anyone ever listened to that interesting duet between Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue called “Kids”. If so, that’s nice, but if you haven’t, don’t worry, since it only has passing relevance to this article.

I am at this time reminded of a lyric from that song
And we'll paint by numbers
'Til something sticks
Don't mind doing it for the kids

The reasons will become clear soon.

Rather than go on a semi political rant today, I’m going to write an article directed based on a recent personal experience, that of last night (no, its not about sex, get your mind out of the gutter if you please…).

Yesterday evening, I was driving back home to Chester from my parents house in Milton Keynes with my boyfriend, we’d just spend Christmas with my folks down south. I’d successfully avoided the roadworks on the M1, got through Birmingham on the M6 without a hitch, and had fun ranting at slow moving lorries and old people all the way up the A41 from Cannock to Chester. Less than 5 minutes from my house, right on Chester’s Ring Road, when an accident occurs. Some idiot either is in completely the wrong lane and not indicating, or simply wasn’t looking, comes up my left side as I’m turning right at a roundabout, and tries to drive through me. I see him and accelerate off the roundabout, so he only clips the back of my car doing next to no damage (couple of minor scratches) but it puts me in right miserable mood for the rest of the night. Eventually get back to my boyfriends place in Ellesmere Port, just down the road from Chester, and first of all he takes me out shopping (and we get some lovely stuff from the Next sale), and then, as it’s a Friday night, we do our usual, and he drives us over to a lovely village pub not far from his place, out in the Wirral on the banks of the Mersey, called the Eastham Ferry. (Anyone in the North West who wants to meet me can guarantee to find me there on a Friday night, just ask the bar staff where the two gay lads are sitting that night).

We’re sitting at a corner table in the pub, and I’m just starting to relax and cheer up again, he’s bought me a couple of drinks, and I’m hugging him and feeling better by the minute, and as we do, we’re kissing, as we wait for our food. Not like I’m all over him, or feeling him up, we’re just sitting at the table, and to begin with I’m leaning over my head on his shoulder, and later on we’re just sitting next to each other and kissing every so often. Kind of thing I’ve seen young couples (and not so young…) do in pubs all the time.

Couple of tables away from us, in another corner of the pub there’s this big group of people, probably two, maybe three families together, and they’ve got something like 4 or 5 boys between them, maybe as young as 9-13.

Eventually one of the men from that table comes over to us and asks us to stop kissing, “because of the children, you know”.

To be perfectly honest, it’s the first time I’ve ever really encountered that kind of behaviour direct to my face. I didn’t come out until university, and that’s probably the best place to do so, not because a university is especially liberal, but because nobody really cares… I’d never really had any serious problems before. Walking around Chester with my boyfriend in the past I’d seen people looking at us holding hands, heard people laughing at us or making quiet comments as we walked passed, and never really cared. Its not especially nice, but there’s nothing you can do about it, so you just get used to it, and learn to ignore it or laugh it off. When I’ve met it on the internet, on this forum and others, I’ve always been aggressive and defiant in the face of it.

I’d always wondered how I would deal with it if someone was ever openly homophobic to my face. I always imagined I’d either laugh at them, or have a go at them. I was wrong. I guess I’m too used to being mostly accepted by the people around me now. I’ve been in that pub, and other straight places before, and had no problems. I’ve sat on trains holding hands, kissed in restaurants, and been out on the town with my boyfriend with City of Chester Conservative Future and had no problems. So this first time I guess I just wasn’t expecting it. I was embarrassed and ashamed, speechless, shocked. I’d never been spoken to like that and just didn’t know what to do. Inside, I felt totally crushed, upset. On top of everything else that day, I just felt like crying. And there was also this shame that I hadn’t stood up for myself, that I hadn’t done anything, that I hadn’t given a damn about what other people thought. Took me quite a while to recover myself from it.

When I did feel better, I went over to the bar and had a word with the manageress, she took me outside for a chat, and made me feel a lot better, reminded me that as far as she was concerned, I could be who I was, and be open abut it, and it didn’t bother her, or her staff in the slightest. If other people had a problem that was their concern but she certainly wouldn’t be entertaining any complaints from them.

My boyfriend has more experience of the straight scene than I do, he told me to just shrug it off and ignore it, but to be honest, I shouldn’t have to. The most galling thing about the experience is that we weren’t the only young couple in the place, and we weren’t the only ones kissing, we were just the only gay couple.

Now maybe I have no right not to expect that kind of treatment, maybe, as a gay man, I should expect to be singled out and made to feel ashamed and humiliated. But I hope no one who reads this article agrees with that, I know I certainly won’t.

I’m used to being accepted, or at the very best tolerated, and I’m happy with that. I don’t expect people in a pub to break into rounds of applause if they happen to see me and my boyfriend kissing, and I’d be more than happy for them to just ignore it and not comment, and not stare, just as I would if I saw a straight couple kissing.

I can’t recall the last time I was made to feel that upset ashamed and embarrassed, and looking back at the event today, I feel equally ashamed that I let myself be put down when I had every right to stand up for myself. I’ve learnt my lesson, and next time I’ll be ready for it, and ready to deal with it.

But there shouldn’t be a next time. Not for me. Not for any gay person. No one should be made to feel the way I felt last night. No one should be made to feel ashamed of who they are. No one should be made to feel upset and scared to be around straight people. No one should be made to feel ashamed and embarrassed not only to be gay, but to be openly gay in public. Make no mistake; what happened last night to me was a form of homophobic bullying, and to lapse back into my political speeches, a classic example of heterosexist repression of gay people. And it should happen to know one.

Had I challenged the person, should that person read this article, I’m entirely certain his response would be, I have no problems with gay people, I just didn’t want to see it. In other words, it’s ok to be gay, so long as we act straight. As straight people are so fond of telling us, we’re different. Yes, we’re Queer, and since we’re different, we act differently and there is no reason for us to hide it. If you don’t like it, don’t look, or go somewhere else. You can be afraid of difference, you can dislike difference, you can hate difference. But that gives you no right to force yourself on people who are different and make them conform to your idea of what is normal. If you think that is strange, try reversing the scene. How would you like it if people tried to make you conform to their ideas of what is normal.

Its not just gay people this idea works for, it applies to anyone who is different to what you perceive normality to be. Whether it be on grounds of something like race or religion, or something like being an emo or a goth. You have no right to tell these people how to act, how to look, how to behave, so long as their behaviour is within the bounds of the law.

As for the kids…. So what? What have the kids got to do with it? Have they never seen two people kissing before? If their lives are that sheltered they’re going to have problems in a couple of years anyway. But to be honest, they go to school, they watch TV, they watch movies and they (hopefully) are allowed to live in the real world. They’re almost certain to have seen people kissing before. Sure, they mind find it odd, or gross, or weird (that’ll change!), but it’s not like its unusual.

But it wasn’t the fact that it was people kissing that was bothering these people. It was gay people kissing. After all, there were other couples there who thankfully didn’t have to suffer our fate. Well, its more likely that these kids have never seen that. Its true. They almost certainly will never encounter it at school. Given that current stats on homophobia in schools, very few people would be brave enough to be an openly gay couple. It oh so rarely features in mainstream movies thanks to the generally homophobic attitude of the American media, and the kind of TV shows that feature that kind of stuff (mostly soaps) aren’t likely to be watched by boys of that age.

But so what? What is happening to see a gay couple kiss going to do to a bunch of boys? If nothing else it will make them aware that there are gay people out there, and big deal, think nothing of it. Unlike the song, I DO mind acting straight for the sake of the kids, because the kids have nothing to fear from me acting gay. The more they see it, the more used to it, and accepting of it they will become.

There are times, a great many times, when I find hope that I will live to live in a society where sexuality is irrelevant. Where there is no such thing as a gay bar, and where a gay couple is no more of a curiosity on a night out than a straight couple is. I want to live in a society where I’m not afraid to go out on the straight scene with my boyfriend, because of what might happen and who we might meet. Where I can sit in a restaurant with my boyfriend and not get a single odd glance or stare. Where the sight of us holding hands in a supermarket attracts no more than the passing look that any other person gets.

Many days, I feel that I am getting closer to that society. Every so often however, I am reminded that unfortunately there are still a great many prejudiced close minded homophobic bigoted idiots out there. The only good news is the majority of them are among my parents generations or above, and that by the time I’m of my grandparents age, they’ll have all died, and we’ll be living in a more enlightened and tolerant society. My one fear is that these idiots will pass on their prejudices their lies and their fears to their children, and so spread the fear and hatred down the generations.

Education can only go so far to counter. If we want to live in a society free from prejudice, we have to live that dream today, and fight for it when the enemy rears its ugly head.

Homophobia is not right, its not clever and its not good, and it should be countered and attacked at every opportunity. I was shocked into failing once. I will not fail again.


the Black Prince

So that's the end of this, my first Helios Issue as Editor of the publication. I hope you all enjoyed it, and please remember to rep the reporters, they deserve it!

[Freddie]

Well done guys and well done on Scorch on his first edition!

Looks like I'm going to have to blast some random rep around before I can rep all the reports as I've haven't repped enough people since the last Helios.

[jimkatalanos]

Good issue guys.

[The Sundance Kid]

Bravo, bravo! Next time, Scorch, I'll do one of the articles currently unmanned....the Ludus is getting depressingly stagnant, it needs to be livened up no end.

Anyone reading this, go and start an interesting topic in the Ludus NOW!

[generally amusing]

Why wasn't I informed that the Helios was coming out today? I would've done a Coliseum article. No worries, nothing happening there anyway. Nice issue.

[Commander_Vimes]

OMG OMG I got Quoted!!! I've never been quoted before!! I mean yeah well done guys, rep to all.

[Cúchulainn]

So did I.

that is strange.

I'm just waiting for the fabric of space and time to come apart now.

[The Sundance Kid]

*Puts down interdimensional scissors, and walks away whistling*










Drat, foiled again.......

[Selifator]

Great issue, nice to see the other sections of TWC live up to their Roman names.

[Medicus]

*Puts down interdimensional scissors, and walks away whistling*

I've got my eye on you, Sundance.

[scottishranger]

You should do a report on the World Alliances game next issue.

[Thanatos]

Not bad, not bad...

[LoZz]

Quoted twice, get in!

total: 3.

[Captain Blackadder]

Overall a fine first edition from Scorch

[imb39]

I called Manstein a Holocaust denier...? I must have had a bad day... Doubtless it was within the ToS! I hope so, at least.

A cracking edition, folks.

[Axeman]

First time I have ever been mentioned in an edition of this, w00!

[Juno]

My thread on tipping should've been covered, yet it was only mentioned.

I am boycotting the Helios from now on.

[The Sundance Kid]

Oooh, a one-man boycott.

Scorch, looks like we're out of jobs.
















Well, you guys are. I reckon there's life in my silk stockings and feather boa yet. *Stops on the street corner and leans against a lamppost, twirling the feather boa*

[Scorch]

Oooh, a one-man boycott.

Scorch, looks like we're out of jobs.

We'll have to close up shop, now ...

[Juno]

We'll have to close up shop, now ...

Damn straight you better fold under my pressure.